A "26-L" air brake system is an equipment package which has been designed to meet present day train handling requirements. This system uses air, under pressure, for the braking of locomotives and trailing freight or passenger vehicles. This system has been designed and developed by the Westinghouse Airbrake Company (WABCO), the assignees of the present invention.
A "26-L" system can include either a "26-C" air brake control valve or a "26-F" air brake control valve as the primary controlling device in this equipment arrangement. These valves provide the manual means for initiating air brake application and releases.
The "26-C" valve is used for passenger locomotives and cars. The "26-F" valve is used for locomotives which haul freight. The present invention can be applied to either the "26-C" or the "26-F" system and thus the term 26-Type is meant to encompass either of these braking systems.
The 26-Type braking system relies on the transfer of air down the train, which propagates at a certain time frame, to achieve stopping of the train. This type of braking system has several disadvantages. One disadvantage of the system is the requirement of the train to have a long enough stopping distance to compensate for the time it takes for the air to be transferred down the train. Also, care must be taken to ensure that the air supply has been sufficiently replenished after a brake application or a series of brake applications prior to another brake application. Additionally, this currently used 26-Type braking system is limited in the number of units that may be placed within a train consist because of the system's inability to react quickly to reductions at the lead unit over long distances.
A system for electronically controlling the pneumatics of the 26-Type braking system which overcomes the disadvantages of the currently used 26-Type braking systems is the subject of the aforementioned co-pending application entitled "26-Type Electronic Controlled Pneumatics".
There is not an industry invention that allows 26 porting to be converted to an electronic controlled pneumatic portion in any manner. Other types of electronic controlled pneumatic equipment are in the marketplace, however, none have been specifically applied to 26-Type braking systems which allow for the graduated release of brake cylinder pressure.
The present invention is directed to a conversion block which provides access to this porting to allow for electronic controlled braking of 26-Type braking systems.
Additionally, there is not an industry product that allows an automated single car test device to be placed within a 26-Type braking arrangement. The present invention provides a single car automated test arrangement, as part of the conversion block, for systems that are mounted in a laminated arrangement. In this sense, the conversion block of the invention provides a means of accessing 26-Type porting from a remotely mounted location, through pipe or related tubing.